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The present invention relates to bead necklaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to bead necklaces having illuminated beads for ornamental decoration of persons especially at festivals.
Ornamental decorations are often used at public events, festivals, parties, parades, and the like, to enliven the activities and enjoyments of the attendees. Among these well-known events are Mardi Gras, New Year""s Eve events, Christmas parades, and other such celebratory public and private events. The ornamental decorations include signage, flags, hats, stylized costumes, and special jewelry and apparel decorations including buttons and necklaces. The manufacture and sales of such special articles and decorations has become a significant business. Attendees often purchase these special articles and decorations from stores, shops, and street vendors.
One type of such ornamental decoration is beaded necklaces. These necklaces typically use brightly colored, faceted beads strung onto an elongate cord for wearing around the neck. For example, many persons appearing on floats and in the streets during Mardi Gras parades wear such beaded necklaces, and often, persons on floats throw additional necklaces to persons observing the parades. Persons attending such events often use as one measure of evaluating their enjoyments based on the number of different necklaces xe2x80x9cwonxe2x80x9d or received during the parade. The beaded necklaces also typically include enlarged, stylized pendents that celebrate the particular sponsors of the floats or generally relate with text and/or graphics to the events. Other similar beaded necklaces for festival participants are available from stores and street vendors.
To promote the excitement and enjoyment of the attendees, the beads are highly stylized and often reflect ambient lights such as from the floats, street lights, and shops along the parade route. The beads often are unitary articles with faceted faces and are made of brightly colored or shiny plastics. The beads have opposing openings through which a cord extends, whereby the beads are strung together on the cord to form the necklace. To provide ornamental lighting effects, elongate plastic tubes containing light-generating chemicals have been used. The tubes form closed loops by engaging short connectors on the opposing ends so that the light-emitting loops may be worn around the neck or in the hair of attendees. Heretofore however, additional lighting has not been used directly in the beaded necklaces.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for providing improved bead necklaces having light sources for ornamental decoration of festival attendees. It is to such that the present invention is directed.
The present invention meets the need in the art by providing a light-emitting beaded necklace for ornamental decoration, comprising a plurality of ornamental beads that each define opposed slots. At least one light source is enclosed within a respective one of the beads. An elongate thread extends through the opposed slots of the beads in sequence. The thread has distal ends that connect together to define a looped article of wearing apparel. The necklace includes means for generating an electrical signal for illuminating the light source in one of the beads, in order to provide a lighted ornamental effect for the beaded necklace.
In another aspect, the present invention provides an elongate thread bundle, for joining together in a sequence of thread bundles to form a light emitting necklace with a first and a second one of the thread bundles attached at one respective end to a source of electrical power to complete an electrical circuit for powering the light sources. The thread bundle comprises an elongate tether member and at least one pair of electrically conductive members for connecting a light source to a source of electrical power. A jacket encloses the tether member and the conductive members, which have distal ends extending outwardly of opposing ends of the jacket for connecting a light-emitting bead attached to a first one of the opposing ends of the tether. The pair of signal communicating members connect to a light source.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a light emitting necklace that has at least two threaded bead assemblies joined together to define a necklace. Each bead assembly comprises an elongate thread bundle having a tether and at least two signal members for communicating electrical signals, and at least one of the signal members defining a common member. At least two beads are received on the bead assembly. The bead assembly has at least one light source adapted for attaching to the thread bundle at one end thereof by engaging a respective distal end of the tether and connecting the light source to the common member and to a selected one of the signal members, the remaining signal members and common member being connected to mating signal members and common member in an adjacent thread bundle. The necklace includes signal means for generating electrical signals for illuminating each of said light sources in a sequence.
Objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the invention and claims in view of the appended drawings.